History

The ashram was originally established at the Kocharab Bungalow of Jivanlal Desai on 25 May 1915. The Ashram was then shifted on 17 June 1917 to a piece of open land on the banks of the river Sabarmati. Reasons for this shift included: Gandhi wanted to do some experiments in living (e.g. farming, animal husbandry, cow breeding, khadi and related constructive activities for which he was in search of this kind of barren land.) It was believed that this was ancient ashram site of Dadhichi Rishi who had donated his bones for a righteous war, but his actual ashram lies in Naimisharanya, near Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh; it is between a jail and a crematorium, and he believed that a satyagrahi has invariably to go to either place. Mahatma Gandhi said, "This is the right place for our activities to carry on the search for truth and develop fearlessness, for on one side are the iron bolts of the foreigners, and on the other the thunderbolts of Mother Nature."<!-- Image with...Read More